Pilgrimage takes visitors on a tour through historic homes

The 63rd annual Sumner County Pilgrimage is set for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. The event sponsored by the Board of Historic Cragfont Inc. will feature six residences and six historic sites.

The private residences are:

Frank and Joyce Edwards, 1003 Cairo Road

Turning into the drive of the late Victorian gray two-story home is like stepping back in time. Located just off Hartsville Pike on Cairo Road, the structure is somewhat obscure. An aura of privacy on all sides is provided by trees and gardens with flowers and 40 rose bushes.

The Edwards have owned the house, built in 1894, for 20 years after Frank retired from the Army. Centering their fondness of old houses on this one, they have transformed it into a comfortable place for their retirement and describe it as always a work in progress.

Chris and Joyce Williams, 1050 Lakeland Drive

Albert C. Franklin Sr. built the log cabin in 1836 when he married. This is built on a tract of land on the east side of Pilot Knob that he named “The Honeymoon Cottage.”

The Williams purchased the property and began renovations and restorations of a house more than 170 years old in bad condition.

A mixture of antiques and modern furniture makes a comfortable and livable home. The modern kitchen with granite top cabinets is a chef’s dream. The house is on a large lot, and two log cottages overlook the lake.

Mark and Elizabeth Walker, 1585 Boardwalk Place

Mark and Elizabeth Walker found their dream home at 1585 Boardwalk Place in Foxland Harbor subdivision.

There is a very eclectic feel in the decorations of the home using old and new together. There are several antiques from an old plantation house in Fayette County that was in her father’s family. There is a framed sampler dated 1843 in the upstairs hall.

Michelle Haynes, 1266 Lock 4 Road

The two story colonial on Old Hickory lake was purchased in 1985, and Haynes is still updating and personalizing her home. The first project in the late ’80s was a two-story brick three-car garage, dormers and colonial porch. In 2014 she undertook a major renovation expanding the kitchen to include a keeping room with a screened porch and a cypress deck connecting to the back of the home. Other major renovations included replacing old aluminum siding with cypress wood siding, new windows, custom shutters and renovating the columnar front entry porch.

One vocal point upon entering the living room is the antique oak staircase that was rescued from a home where the Gallatin City Hall now stands. Her love of art shows in a collection that includes contemporary works done by local artists, art she has collected while traveling, as well as old paintings, and her own works of art in oil and needlepoints.

Foxland Mansion, 1445 Foxland Road (off Douglas Bend)

Thomas Anderson Baber and his wife, Lucy Ann Trevelian, moved from Johnson Springs, Va., and started construction of Belmont (Foxland Hall) in 1830. After the Civil War, the surrounding community turned its focus to thoroughbred horses.

In 1925, 100 years later, horses and fox hunting captivated the landscape and community. It was quoted that the residents of Gallatin were wide-eyed, seeing scarlet coated hunters riding to the hunt, especially with packs of 20 or more hounds that few had ever seen. It was a sight to behold.

The thrill of the fox chase influenced the beginning of a new venture and therefore it was announced by the Southern Grasslands Hunt and Racing Foundation in Sumner County the Inaugural Grasslands Steeplechase would take place on May 19, 1930. The foundation invited 100 selected lovers of equine sports to be guests at Foxland Hall, Brentwood House and Race Horse Tavern for the May 19 Steeplechase. The Grasslands Steeplechase was changed the following year to Dec. 5 to attract English sportsmen, insisting their horses were at the top of their game that time of year.

The history of Foxland Hall continues with Mr. and Mrs. John Branham who operated a thoroughbred horse breeding farm for almost 50 years. The Branhams’ efforts produced winning stallions with the champion horse, Man O’Night, as the best known thoroughbred in their stables.

In May 2014, Foxland Manor, formally Foxland Hall, opened its clubhouse and restaurant, Foxland Southern Grill.

Joe and Barbara Haynes, 630 Harsh Lane, Castalian Springs

It takes a lot of planning, time, work and a “whole lot of love” to tackle the job of renovating an old uninhabited family farm home. But, that’s exactly what Barbara and Joe Haynes have done. This home has been in the Haynes family for almost 125 years.

Renovation of the home and outbuildings began in 2012 and were completed in May 2014. The original structure consisted of, what appears to have been, a one-room log house with a loft area for sleeping, believed to be built around 1800. Needless to say, several additions and changes have been made over the years. Today the home is a neat, white farmhouse with stone chimneys on each end.

Outside, don’t miss looking at the smokehouse, hen house, the “museum” tool shed and the garage. In the garage be sure and check out the buggy and the Ford coupe with the rumble seat.

The historic sites featured include:

•Rose Mont, 810 S. Water Ave., Gallatin. This will also be tour headquarters.

•Trousdale Place, 183 W. Main St., Gallatin.

•Sumner County Museum, 183 W. Main St., Gallatin (behind Trousdale Place).

•Wynnewood, 205 Old Highway 25, Castalian Springs.

•Cragfont, 300 Cragfont Road, Castalian Springs.

•Bledsoe Historic Fort Park, 2895 Hartsville Pike, Castalian Springs.

Don’t miss the bake sale being held at Cragfont the day of the pilgrimage.

Advance ticket sales will be through Friday. Price $17 for adults, $3 for children 6-12. They will be available at the Gallatin Chamber of Commerce, 118 W. Main St.; Rose Mont, 810 S. Water Ave., Gallatin; Perkins Drugs, 532 Hartsville Pike, Gallatin; First State Bank, 1135 Nashville Pike, Gallatin; First State Bank, 291 E. Main St. in Hendersonville.

The day of the tour, ticket prices will be $20 for adults and $5 for children 6-12 and will be available at homes on the tour and at Rose Mont tour headquarters. Tickets cover all the homes and sites on the tour, and no individual house tickets will be sold.

Proceeds from the pilgrimage will be used for the upkeep of the historic Cragfont mansion. The pilgrimage is one of two fundraisers during the year for Cragfont. The other is the gala in August.